Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
June 29, 2010
Kane Biotech Inc. (TSX-V:KNE), a biotechnology company engaged in the development of products that prevent and disperse microbial biofilms, is pleased to announce the invention of biotech plants producing DispersinB® antibiofilm enzyme. This provides a proof of concept for developing bacterial disease resistant agricultural crops of economic importance.
“Just like humans and animals, plants must constantly fight against bacterial infections, which account for billions of dollars of losses in crop yields and quality annually. The genetic engineering of plants will help defend against these pathogens and have a large impact on agricultural productivity. In 2009, 14 million farmers in 25 countries grew biotech crops on 134 million hectares generating $10.5 billion in seed/licensing revenues”, stated Gord Froehlich, President and Chief Executive Officer of Kane Biotech.
The prevention of agricultural crop diseases such as ‘soft rot’ and ‘bacterial wilt’ is made possible by preventing the biofilm formation of bacterial pathogens Erwinia carotovora and Ralstonia solanacearum, respectively. DispersinB®-expressing plants are resistant to plant pathogens due to their ability to inhibit and disrupt biofilms. Additionally, this biotech plant can also be used as a bioreactor for commercial scale production of DispersinB® enzyme; an alternative to the fermentation process currently used to produce DispersinB®.
“DispersinB®-expressing plants produced substantial amounts of the biologically active enzyme and showed inhibitory as well as dispersal activity against Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilm”, stated Dr. Jeffrey B. Kaplan, Associate Professor, Department of Oral Microbiology, at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. “Furthermore, these plants showed resistance to E. carotovora, which causes ‘soft rot’ disease in staple food crops such as potatoes and cassava, and they should also be resistant to ‘bacterial wilt’ disease caused by R. solanacearum”.
“This new discovery has applications in preventing major bacterial diseases in crops that involve biofilms which can be up to 1000 times more resistant to antimicrobials than their planktonic counterparts and has the potential to substantially reduce the agricultural losses in crops such as potatoes, tomatoes and cassava worldwide”, stated Mr. Froehlich.
Kane Biotech is a biotechnology company engaged in the development of products to prevent and disperse biofilms. Biofilms develop when bacteria and other microorganisms form a protective matrix that acts as a shield against attack. When in a biofilm, bacteria become highly resistant to antibiotics, biocides, disinfectants, high temperatures and host immune responses. This resiliency contributes to human health problems such as recurrent urinary tract infections, medical device associated infections and tooth decay.
Kane Biotech uses patent protected technologies based on molecular mechanisms of biofilm formation/dispersal and methods for finding compounds that inhibit or disrupt biofilms. The Company has evidence that these technologies have potential to significantly improve the ability to prevent and/or destroy biofilms in several medical and industrial applications.
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